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Viewpoint * Monday, April 21, 1986 Asbestos State assistan remove substa It has been more than a year sincc asbestos was first discovered in USC's Columbia Hall dorm, but the cancercausing material has yet to be removed. It should have been done long ago, but USC needs state funding to do the job. Although the health risk in the dorm is minimal and the level of asbestos has been determined to be non-toxic, there is certainly cause to worry as long as it is present. Asbestos has been proved to cause certain types of cancer, unH cnmntimAc UXM OUIIIVIIIIIVO 111V V.1 IVtia VJ I exposure do not appear until many years later. Aside from the possible danger to their health, residents of Columbia Hall are subject to other annoyances because of the asbestos. Residents cannot disturb anything in their rooms near the ceiling. They have to be careful when hanging posters on their walls, and aren't allowed to use their top shelves. Small nuisances, yes, but nhi-j. bill! 5 routes needed to read my footnotes A big fear in my life is that some of my columns will be footnoted to death in literature textbooks. I'll demonstrate with a paragraph from my Dec. 4 column. Numbers in parentheses indicate footnotes. "The (1) first problem (2) was how to get the fish from Point A, the third floor (3) of Bates House in Columbia, to Point B in Batesburg (4). I carried a Tupperware bowl full of water, gravel and fish downstairs, gritting my teeth, with the bowl held a good two feet away from my body (5). "'Hi,' one girl (6) said." (I): One of Duncan's favorite tools of composition, the word the appears four times in the passage above. In a letter, Duncan once wrote: "The is a word that appeals to me for its specificity and admirable economy. 1 heartily recommend it to all beginning writers; they will be amazed at how rnnunnf repetition of the will improve their writing." In his fondness for the, Duncan was following the lead of one of his favorite authors, T.S. Eliot, who often used the in his titles: The Waste Land, Murder in the Cathedral, and so on. The is also common in footnotes, appearing in this one ) 1 times. (2): "The first problem" may be a teasing reference to "The Final Problem," the concluding story in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894). Then again, maybe not. (3): This is one of many references to the number three in Duncan's writings. One scholar studying the columns of a oneyear period, compiled this list: The Third Man, the third degree, Three's Company, Three Rivers Stadium, the Three Musketeers, Three Mile Island, Three Days of the Condor, the three cardinal virtues, the three Fates, the Three Stooges, the Three Laws of Robotics, the three little maids from school, the three men in a Send us a Express your likes and dislike* tf?r tf? fhf* prlitnr or a onocl Letters must be typed, doubh more than 300 words. Include I dressv telephone number and wl reached for verification. l etters also should include wl student, staff or community editorials must be limited to i writers must come to the newsi picture taken. ce needed to mce from dorm constant reminders of a dangerous and illegal substance that surrounds them. USC President James Holderman recently presented a petition to university's board of trustees signed by residents of the dorm. This petition should have been unecessary. The course of action and the reasons for it are definite and incontrovertible. USC is requesting $4 million from the state legislature to fund the removal. The health of USC students and staff are being put into a potentially threatening situation, and it is up to the state to make things safe by supplying the funds. This situation, though minor when compared to other large-scale asbestos problems, is not a matter to be debated and discussed by state legislators. There is undeniable need for the funding, and South Carolina's responsibility in this dilemma is quite clear. '.'las -: fxj Andy Duncan InK iko #k-?? \i/: ** tm uiu, 11IV- mn.t ?r ISC 1V1CI1, 1 IlICC Bears, Three Blind Mice, Three Little Pigs, Three Faces of Eve, Threepenny Opera and the 3:10 to Yuma. Most experts consider this list about as useful as a doorknob on a doghouse. (4): An early draft of this column spells the name of the town "Batesbung," but this generally is attributed to Duncan's atrocious handwriting. (5): Duncan holds the water, a traditional symbol of life and fertility, away from his body. This suggests self-denial and a rigid asceticism that elevates the mind at the expense of the body ? or maybe just an inability to get dates. (See Brewer, "Duncan as Wet Blanket," in Andv Duncan Studies, summer 2024.) (6): The identity of this girl is unknown. Some scholars with nothing better to do believe her to be Amy Bedenbaugh, referred to elsewhere in the Duncan output. Others have speculated that the girl is Amy DclPo, former i litorial page editor at The Gamecock and Duncan's immediate supervisor for a semester. At least one scholar has proposed that the girl is Amy Carter, daughter of Jimmy Carter, president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. That the girl in question may have been named something other than "Amy" is, of course, a very real possibility. i letter by writing a let- The Gamecock rial. letters a month b ^-spaced and no only be withheli your name, ad- pseudonyms are i here you can be icther you are a The Gamecock member. CJuest and guest editorii 500 words, and returned. Send room to have a Gamecock, Draw bia, S.C. 29208. 10 Letters to the Chinese students find 'Shoe' strip offensive To the editor: We arc fans of your newspaper and find it both informative and interesting. However, it is insulting to read the cartoon "Shoe" byJeff MacNclly that appeared in the April 14 issue of The Gamecock. ine cartoon stated, "That figures ? you would have to be pretty stupid to live there (China)." First of all, we do not think that 22 percent of the world's population are all stupid just because they live in the People's Republic of China. Although we know that it is supposed to be a joke, we think it was in extremely poor taste. We are writing this to let you know that we are disheartened to see a cartoon such as this appear in The Gamecock, which should serve not only the American students, but the foreign students as well. We hope that you will use more discretion in printing offensive cartoons like this in the future. Hanfu Mi, Huiying Li, Xinhua Ren, Zhijian Wu, Qualong Wang, Chanzheng Hu Chinese visiting graduate students U.S. support for Israel causes terrorist acts To the editor: After the United States' strike against Libya and killing in the process women and children, I think it is time for the United States to sit with the Libyans and the Palestinians and discuss the ways to stop terrorism. The United States blames Libya for recent attacks on innocent people in Europe, though, strangely enough, no solid proof of the Libyan connection has been presented to the world, and that is why Spain, Italy and France refused to participate in the air strike. Britain did participate, but 1 think this was done because the British owe the Americans a favor ? the United States aided Britain in the Falkland Islands war against Argentina. Also, Britain wanted to avenue herself on Khadafv. who helped Argentina in that war and who has been helping the Irish Red Army. The United States government should find an answer to the question: Why is it that Americans are the main target for terrorists? To answer the question, we have to go to the core of the problem, i.e., the Middle East crisis. The problem started with the Palestinians losing their homeland, being scattered all over But SC Prw t ? . - W1' Kdltor In < will print no more than two Marisa J. y the same writer. Names will Managing . , . . . . Jeri Row\ by special exception, and lot allowed. < opy Linda Ta Assistant 1 reserves the right to edit letters Buddy to iis, Doth ol which will not be News mm letters to: Editor, The Juliet No er A, Russell House, Colum- Ha^Milh Paula W c WJ\/ER M EOTWWW Di* \, iffl^3H|)BWBBMfrwBBBBBBMK8i'^M .. ^ L_i i editor the Arab world, and Israel killing innocent people left and right. The United States is seen as the blind supporter of Israel in everything it does (The United States vetoes any decision against Israel in the United Nations and the Security Council). Grievances are the cause of terrorism. Terrorism is the only option available to many i aiiaiiiiiau:> The United States can help establish peace in the Middle East if and when it adopts an even-handed policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict, when it forces Israel to pull out of Lebanon, when it stops being 101 percent on the side of Israel. The United States' can become a peace broker when it becomes neutral. No one accepts terrorism against innocent people, be it against Americans, Libyans or Israelis, so let us find non-violent ways to solve the grievances. Everyone was pleased with the way the Reagan administration helped the Philippinos get rid of their tyrant, so let us hope for another foreign policy success and get rid of international terrorism. Mahmoud Salem Comparative literature, graduate Graduate says letter underestimated work To the editor: I would like to reply to Mr. Larry Bagwell's letter of Monday, April 14. In his letter, he only presented half the picture and gave a distorted view of our demands. First, he declared that teaching two courses a semester means 24 hours per week. Among the duties he listed are 11 hours grading papers, three hours for office hours and five hours for class preparation. even ii we accept his calculation that 60 essays every two weeks could be graded at a rate of 11 hours per week, that leaves out the reading and grading of weekly journals, quizzes, in-class assignments, written exercises, etc. He also forgot to mention that we are required to have at least three conferences per student a semester. This can be translated into approximately 20 hours per academic term. As Mr. Bagwell pointed out, the amount of time varies from one graduate instructor to another. However, there is no way that a responsible instructor could fulfill his duties effectively in 24 hours a week for two freshman English courses. His other argument was that $8.31 per hour is a very good rate compared to jobs off camr\ 11 c M/\ L. ~ ' r*. - a * 1 * * * i/iu, nu ai guiiitius iiick': inn mai is not I tic The Gam Lhlff Business Kdltor PhoK Porto Maria Fralus /(ay Kdltor Viewpoint Editor Asslsi e Carl Dawson Sean Spotlight Kdltor Senlo . Ch. . Ed Chambtiss Davi Assistant Spotli^l Kditors jose, ylor Stephen Guil/oyle * Copy l>esk Chief Patrick Jean c , f00re Snnrik S*B'( ?r John Boyette "er Aulitanl Sports Kdttor Art News Kdlton Jeff Shrewsbury Am) ltd Datrhook Kdltor Ron ethington Laurie Rhoden Joar ED IfclNF SAMPLE: /wNj H ' , ' ^TynC?KlR55r ^ College Press Service issue. In the job market, the salary is determined aceording to responsibilities and duties, skills required and market demand. In ^ all three aspects, the work we perform surpasses most of the skills and demands of jobs w11 tuiiipu^. Finally, I would like to make clear to Mr. Bagwell that it was neither ingratitude nor envy for TAs in other departments that made us denounce our situation, but concern with the quality of our graduate work. 1 believe that the faculty support of our grievances points to the validity of our problem. Carmen S. Rivera Comparative literature, graduate Guest editorial was baseless, senseless To the editor: A This is in resnnnsr tr* Y1r ^ii'nhin ir>? iv,/.m.. .JV.I loiter to the editor in The Gamecock on April 9, and his guest editorial on April 18. First of all, he is blinded by sin and, therefore, cannot distinguish what is good and evil. The Bible says "the wages of sin is death." Furthermore, the anonymous letter must hurt his feelings because the sin he finds harmless is being attacked. Secondly, I visited his country ? France ? and was shocked to see the naked people in the public and tourist places on the banks of ti.e River Seine in Paris. It was disgusting. Let him visit A my country, India ? that is where he was also born, but he grew up in France ? and he won't see those indecent exposures in the public or tourist places. However, there are exceptions. I once did see a mentally sick street beggar woman not wearing any clothes in my hometown in India. She was definitely out of her mind when she walked on the streets like this. Everybody knew she was mentally sick and incapable of discerning what is good and bad. Furthermore, Mr. Sen's understanding of America to be a rational, open, progressive ^ and pluralistic society as that of an immoral ^ and sinful society is utterly wrong. His guest editorial "Obscenity laws create, instead of stop, problems" is a senseless and baseless argument. I advise that he refer to statistics on sex-related crimes and pornography. There is hope for Mr. Stephan Sen. He can be set free from the slavery of sin and can come under the control of righteousness. The result is eternal life for him through Jesus Christ our Lord. Raj Aluri Education, doctoral student iecock ' ~| 1 "" jgraphy Kdilor Kuthy Lewis Gronberg Tracy Mixson lant Photography Kdilor Fred Steppe Keefer Adviser r Photographers Bill Rogers (J Dotson Director ih GarnetI, Jr. Hill Clements rroaucilon >r Reporter* Lewis Covington iohan Mark Armstrong Boerke Advertising Manager > DelPo Margaret Michels . M i Bea Kayne Student Advertising Manager we Korth Kelli Freas